Conventional medicine
Triage by imaging, manage with NSAIDs and PT, escalate to specialist if persistent.
Movement-first / holistic
Treat the knee as undertrained rather than damaged. Build tissue capacity with backwards walking, deep ranges, and progressive load.
History, physical exam, range-of-motion test. Rule out infection, fracture, instability.
Identify pain pattern: deep squat? stairs? straight leg raise? Map daily flare triggers.
X-ray first (alignment, joint space, fracture). MRI if symptoms persist or meniscus/ligament suspected.
Backwards sled drag, ATG split squat (assisted), tibialis raises, patrick step, VMO step-ups.
Quad / hip / glute strengthening. Manual therapy. Patellar taping. Home program.
Slant board squats, sissy squats, Nordic curls, deep step-ups. Backwards treadmill if available.
Second opinion. Often suggests corticosteroid injection or PRP. Discusses arthroscopy thresholds.
12-week block: split squat ladders, single-leg work, full ROM heavy days. Aaron Horschig for clinical cases.
Meniscectomy or repair. Partial / total knee replacement if joint is bone-on-bone.
Minimum effective dose: a few sets of full-ROM most days. Heavier loading 2× / week. Reassess every 8 weeks.
Every step has a price.
Here’s what we found.
We called clinics across Austin and pulled cash-pay quotes. Click any tile for the full provider list, phone numbers, and last-verified dates.
Who built
track B.
The movement-first track is consolidated from what these coaches and PTs publish, with edits where peer-reviewed work disagrees.
"You can’t hurt what’s strong." Backwards walking, full ROM, tibialis training.
Bridges clinical PT with strength training. Form diagnostics, mobility, single-leg patterning.
Mobility, daily movement hygiene, "supple" joints. Crossfit-adjacent rehab.
Clear movement breakdowns, common knee mistakes, glute / VMO emphasis.
- AAOS Clinical Practice GuidelinesSpecialty body
- JAMA · NSAIDs for OA kneeMeta-analysis
- Cochrane · Exercise for knee OASystematic review
- Ben Patrick · @kneesovertoesguyInfluencer · 2.9M
- Aaron Horschig · Squat UniversityPT · 4.2M
- Knee Ability Zero (Patrick, 2021)Self-published book
- ATG · Athletic Truth GroupOnline coaching